$725k pre-seed funding raised by YC-backed Nigerian fintech Lemonade Finance

Lemonade Finance, a Nigerian fintech firm sponsored by Y Combinator, has acquired $725,000 in pre-seed capital to help it expand.

Lemonade Finance, a participant in Y Combinator’s W21 batch earlier this year, enables Africans living abroad to send and receive money from their home nations in a cost-effective, timely, and efficient manner. Its software lets users save their balances in the currencies that are important to them and convert between them quickly.

The firm has now secured US $725,000 in pre-seed capital to help it expand. Microtraction, Ventures Platform, and Acuity Venture Partners are among the other investors in the round, in addition to Y Combinator. A number of private investors also participated.

Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran, the startup’s co-founders, argue that the app’s adaptability is purposeful and at the core of the team’s philosophy.

“Before Lemonade, international money transfers that should take minutes took days. Those are hours of stress and anxiety for you and your family while your money is stuck in transit. It also makes it difficult for many Africans abroad, who own businesses, to keep those ventures running. The Lemonade app solves all that, with great rates and instant transfers across borders; it’s a game-changer for the African diaspora,” said Olalere.

Lemonade’s answer was incredibly timely, according to Dayo Koleowo, managing partner of Microtraction.

“As a multi-currency financial service provider, they make it easy for the African diaspora to send and receive money from their new country of residence, which is remarkable. We believe Rian and Ridwan have the technical and financial know-how to provide the number one cross-border neobank for Africans in diaspora,” he said.

Kayode Oyewole, a partner at Ventures Platform, said his firm was excited to back Lemonade, which has built a “compelling financial product to serve the more than 100 million African diasporas, who today have limited access to great financial products.”

“The founders are rockstars with deep experience building and scaling products to reach millions of users,” he said.